I. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a glass wall used in building, both as an interior partition wall and as an exterior wall of the building.
II. Description of Related Art
Nowadays, walls of buildings, both interior walls and walls connected to the outside of the building are, when made entirely of glass, usually made as monolithic glass glazing units, the glass being joined together by bonding as structural sealant glazing or assembled by other systems as structural glazing. Now, such a wall provides only very mediocre performance in terms of thermal and acoustic insulation.
Hence, the use of insulating multiple glazing units for partition walls in buildings, particularly for dividing offices on the inside, or in the verandas connected to the outside, is an unavoidable necessity if acoustic and/or thermal performance is to be achieved. These glazing units span the full height of the room or alternatively are incorporated into the upper part of the partition wall, the lower part of the wall being made of a solid material other than glass.
A conventional insulating glazing unit has its insert positioned between the sheets of glass over a width of about 15 mm from the edge of the glazing unit.
In order to form a glazed wall, when two glazing units are butted together by means of a mounting and securing strip, it is necessary to provide a width of strip that is enough to, on the one hand, support the glazing units and, on the other hand, hide the inserts. Hence, a total width of about 45 mm is lost in terms of visibility at the connection between two glazing units that form a wall.
It is becoming increasingly desirable to build buildings or to renovate them with interior rooms that have the most natural possible lighting so as to limit the amount of artificial lighting, especially for energy-saving and comfort reasons. A room that has no window but which opens onto a corridor lit by natural light will be more comfortable if a few glazing units that allow light through are incorporated into the partition walls, rather than being walled with solid partitions. Likewise, the current architectural trend towards living quarters that open directly onto the outside is in favor of direct lighting.